Coiled Dragon Tee

龍と武士 (ryū to bushi): "the dragon and the warrior."

Kurikara Pass, on the old road between Kaga and Etchū, shares its name with a dragon: Kurikara, who coils around the sword of the Buddhist guardian Fudō Myōō. In 1183 Minamoto no Yoshinaka met a far bigger Taira army there. The tale told ever since has his men tying torches to the horns of a herd of oxen and driving them into the Taira camp at night, and the whole army breaking for the ravines. That summer the Taira abandoned Kyoto.

A gray scaled dragon coils through cream clouds around an armored samurai, sword gripped in both hands, with crimson flames curling off the clouds across the back. On the chest a small round badge repeats the pair, captioned 龍 (ryū), "dragon," and 侍 (samurai), "samurai."

The tale says Yoshinaka won that pass with torches tied to oxen, so this is history with a bit of steel and a lot of nerve. Wear it under an open flannel or on its own with dark denim. If armor is your thing, the samurai collection has plenty more.

• Fabric: 100% combed cotton, 230gsm, pre-shrunk and soft-washed
• Print: direct-to-garment (DTG)
• Color: black
• Fit: unisex, regular; size up for a boxier, oversized look
• Sizes: S to 3XL
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in wears L; 5 ft 7 in wears M

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.